Angry Birds Maker Rovio Planning IPO (Details)

The move has been heavily rumored in recent months, and now the Finnish outfit hopes to strengthen its position after its games division experienced its best year to date.

Rovio hasn’t revealed how much it hopes to raise, though it did explain the IPO will likely consist of a secondary share sale by majority backers, including main owner Kaj Hed, and a new share issue worth around €30 million ($35.7 million).

The company also neglected to stick an official valuation on the sale, but last month people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg an IPO could see Rovio valued at around $2 billion.

“Through our games-first strategy, we have strengthened our games portfolio and improved the key performance indicators,” said company CEO, Kati Levoranta.

“I am confident in our games-first strategy. The contemplated IPO and listing are an important milestone in developing Rovio into an even stronger games-first entertainment company.”

All the talk might be about that “games-first strategy,” but the Angry Birds Movie also played its part in Rovio’s revival, with the animated flick making $350 million on a budget of $73 million. With that in mind, it’s thought any cash raised will be spent on developing new titles and producing a movie sequel.

Looking at its most recent financials, Rovio almost doubled its year-over year revenue during the second quater of 2017. The solid performances of its existing games lineup, combined with The Angry Bird Movie’s box office success, bumped revenues up by 94 percent to €86.2 million ($101.3 million).

Revenue in the company’s games division rose by 65 percent to €61.3 million ($72 million). That surge was largely driven by a 40 percent increase in the total number of monthly paying users, and a 51 percent rise in revenue per monthly paying user.

New releases Battle Bay and Angry Birds Evolution also launched with the highest ARPDAU (average revenue per daily active user) the company has ever seen, which Levoranta says is proof that the company’s games-first strategy is paying off.